Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Stall

Well friends, it was always inevitable, but I still can't believe it's happening: my baby is leaving babyhood behind and becoming a real kid.  As if her burgeoning independence and repetitions of the mantras, "I a big girl" and "I do it myself" weren't proof enough, she is becoming more and more proficient at that most ubiquitous of childhood accomplishments, the bedtime stall.  I wouldn't say that she has become "master of the stall"or even reached "expert level" just yet - she still hasn't figured out a few of the more manipulative techniques that I remember employing in my own youth - but she would certainly fall solidly into the "apprentice" category.

One way in which she is able to delay her bedtime by several minutes is to request additional verses of her bedtime song (which we totally stole from Addie and her family, by the way).  Usually we sing it to all the friends she has seen that day, and often her grandparents get a shout-out.  And of course there is the obligatory verse each for Mommy and Daddy.  But lately she has figured out she can sing this song to pretty much any person or object on earth.  When I see her eyes starting to cast around her bedroom looking for items to sing to, I know it's time to pack it in and get the kid into her crib before we name every. single. object. in. the. universe.

Here's a small sampling of the things she deems worthy of their own special verse of the Night-Night Song:

Verse 1: Picures
Verse 2: Shirt
Verse 3: Firetruck

Practicing her latest stall technique in the car.
(Singing by Lilah, video by Mommy, driving by Daddy)

What is your kid's go-to stall technique?  I'd love to hear all about it so I can see it coming and nip it in the bud!

Linking up with:
Let's BEE Friends

12 comments:

  1. They say if you want your child to do something, ask them at bedtime.
    Mine will talk your ear off. And it is the only time I get a kiss, without asking. In case it doesn't make sense to you, boys don't like kissing, apparently it is genetically predisposed.

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  2. Mine always turns a couple of pages of his book in the opposite direction so that we are moving towards the beginning and it seems like the story lasts forever. I told my husband that for the next baby we need to find a shorter book!

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  3. Oh, so funny! My kids ask for one more hug, a drink of water, one more kiss...the list goes on and on. :)

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  4. That is so cute. Little Lilah is precious.

    My girls ask for water, to go to the bathroom again, and a make-up story (a story I make up on the spot). By this time, I get firm and nip the asking for more things in the bud!

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  5. How cute! I remember those early stalling days with a smile at their inventiveness. Now that they're older it's...I forgot to brush my teeth, I forgot to clean up something, I need a drink, I didn't have a snack, one more story and my absolute favorites...tickle me, sing to me or snuggle with me. The beginning of the list annoy me and the last three make my heart melt. Sometimes I give in and sometimes I don't. I know I'll look back and chersih bedtime even with the stalling.
    So glad I found you from Let's Be Friends.

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  6. You've quite a cutie there! My girl stalls more than her brother, but when she stalls...oh my. She'll take an extra long time getting jammies on, brush her teeth for even longer, and then her ultimate stalling technique? She suddenly wants to clean and is extremely insistant about it. And it's really, *really* hard to tell her not now, she can clean tomorrow. I hate to turn down a cooperative spirit, even if it is a stall to get to bed. So, that one stall, I'll usually give her a couple of minutes, figuring it's a win-win situation. She gets to stay up for a few more minutes (like five) and her room or other parts of the house get a little help in the cleaning department (I don't just mean picking up toys...she prefers to Swiffer! lol)! :>

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  7. The stall has just started at our house and I just blogged about it. Now that we are not laying with Sarah anymore at night, she tries to come up with everything she can think of. The less original ones are drinks of water. The more creative ones are I want a different blanket and we forgot to floss (she hates flossing).

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  8. OMG!! love it...soo cute..

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  9. @Stasha LOL, Lilah doesn't kiss voluntarily either, so it may not just be a boy thing!

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  10. @Barbara That's a good strategy! :)

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  11. @Karen Maybe she could come over here and teach Lilah how to swiffer? That's not terrible, ad stalling techniques go!

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  12. Juju has learned an AMAZING technique. It goes like this: We're in bed and the light is off, we've read our books and sung our songs and a.l.m.o.s.t. asleep. Then she pops her eyes open and says "Juju pooping! Juju go potty!" The first two times I admit I fell for it. She has never used the potty, so I really want to believe her when she says it, but it is just a stall. Once we're up and undressed and sitting in the bathroom on the potty with the light on she has earned herself at LEAST another half an hour.

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